Bonds Renewed
by Guardian of Hope
Summary: Sequal to The Driving Lesson; Ziggy gets a surprise visitor, and the Trio deals with a secret that nearly broke them apart. Surprise pairings within. Set after Gem and Gemma arrive in Corinth.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: If I owned Power Rangers, this wouldn't be the last season.

A/N: This is for Neo Aguni, for asking all the right questions. It is also a sequal to The Driving Lessons

* * *

The truck had seen better days, with its rusted bed and growling motor, but it had hauled water and gas for the group of twenty across the Wasteland and provided a place for the Gold and Silver Rangers to direct the refugees to Corinth City. Its driver was an unremarkable brunette who squinted as the sun angled through his windshield and glinted on his glasses. "It's just up here," the Gold Ranger said, leaning around to talk through the window.

"Are you sure they'll let us in?" The brunette asked.

"We've been chatting with the Tower and Dr K," the Gold Ranger replied, "They'll let you in, but they'll need to make sure that none of you are Venjix bots. They check everybody. Not that they've had many refugees."

The truck and its partners, a pair of school buses, rolled over the final hill and down to the gate of Corinth City, which opened as they approached. Soldiers came out of the gate with weapons to cover the convoy and beyond the gate, flashes of color proved the presence of the other Power Rangers. As the convoy cleared the gate, the sound of laser fire filled the air, and the brunette watched, fascinated, as the brightly colored defenders of Corinth went to work on the drones that were attacking the city.

"Sir?" A soldier said, opening the door, "if you'll come this way, we'll get you registered."

"Of course," the brunette replied. He slid out of the truck and looked at the two buses of refuges, "I guess, we thought we'd die out there. It's hard to believe that this is Corinth."

"Yeah," the guard said, "I can't believe you guys survived. I need to run this over you to check for Venjix technology."

"Go right ahead," the brunette replied. "Well, we escaped Seattle during the attack and managed to make it into the Rockies before everything went to hell in a hand basket. We might have stayed, but Venjix drones found us and we had to scatter and flee. I don't know if any other groups made it through, but we had a couple hundred people hiding up there. We've had the routes to Corinth mapped out since we first started receiving the coordinates."

"All right," the soldier said, "you're clear, just head over there and let them know who you are and we'll see about getting you settled.

"I can do that," the brunette replied. He walked over to join the line of refugees who had passed the scans of the soldiers.

When his turn came, the soldier said, "Name, city of origin and previous occupation?"

"Danny," the man replied, "Danny Grover, from Seattle, Washington, forensics pathologist, Seattle Police Crime Lab."


	2. Life Goes On

Disclaimer: Totally not mine.

A/N: While Danny is a part of this story, there is more to this story than just his return to Ziggy's life.

* * *

"Wild Draw Four," Scott said triumphantly, "I chose red."

"Yippee," Flynn said as he drew four Uno cards. He tightened his grip against a gust of wind "Summer, your turn."

Summer smiled, "Hey Scott," she said sweetly, "draw two."

"Damn," Scott muttered as he drew the cards. The three Rangers were sitting on the roof of the Garage, shaded by an opaque, plexi glass awning that had been built after Flynn had gotten a nasty sunburn one day.

Flynn regarded his cards for a moment, "Do you think Ziggy's going to be ok?" He asked finally, putting down a red card. "I mean, he seems sad."

"Well," Summer said, taking her turn, "he just had to bury his sister, in a way."

"How do you figure?" Scott asked as he frowned at his cards.

"I think he just got kicked in the gut over his sister being dead," Summer said. "Reverse, Flynn, your turn."

"He said he knew she was dead," Flynn pointed out. "Draw two, Scott."

"It's one thing to know in your mind," Scott said, looking over at Summer, "and another in your heart, right Summer?"

"Right," Summer said, taking her turn.

"Skip you, Scott," Flynn said absently. "I don't think that's the whole problem though."

"Well," Summer said, "Dr K still won't call him Ziggy."

"Why does he want her to?" Scott asked, "I mean, it's almost scary how she acts now."

"Yeah, but he's the only one Dr K still calls by his color," Flynn pointed out. "It's a nice change of pace, but I'm not sure I can handle her hugging me a second time."

"Yeah," Scott said, "I was used to our Dr K before Gem and Gemma showed up."

"Those two are original," Summer said, "I wonder when they'll be back this time."

"I wonder when my dad is going to chain them to the Garage," Scott replied. "He's not too happy with them."

"Scott, your dad's plan is to wait out a computer virus," Flynn said gently, "I hate to point this out, but I don't think we can out live Venjix."

"I don't agree with my dad," Scott said, "I just think that Gem and Gemma need to think about how vulnerable we are when they're gone."

"I think Dr K's working on that," Summer said, "she's been very secretive lately. Maybe she's making more morphers."

"I don't know," Scott said, "perhaps."

Their morphers chimed, and Scott pulled his out, "Yeah, Doc?"

"Ranger Red, are Rangers Blue and Yellow with you."

"Yes, Dr K," Scott replied.

"Please report to the briefing room." Dr K said, "A very important matter has come to light."

"We're on our way," Scott said as Flynn collected the cards.

"We'll try to play again later," Summer said as they headed for the door into the Garage.

Dr K, Gem and Gemma were waiting in the briefing room when the trio arrived, although Ziggy and Dillon followed. Ziggy carried a plate apple slices covered in peanut butter on it, and as they sat down, Dillon snagged one. "That had better not be from my fruit bowl," Flynn muttered.

"It's not," Dillon said blandly.

"Rangers," Dr K said, "As you know, Gem and Gemma's recent mission outside the City had the side benefit of finding a group of refuges and bringing them into the City."

"My ribs are still sore," Summer muttered as she reached over Flynn to swipe one of Ziggy's apples.

"If you would pay attention," Dr K said tartly.

"Sure," Ziggy said, "want an apple, Dr K?"

"No," Dr K said. Gemma nudged her, "Thank you."

"So, why are we here," Scott asked. "I mean, we knew about the refugees. So far as I know, they were all human."

"That is correct," Dr K replied, "however, the leader of the refugees has caused some controversy." She clasped her hands before her, "He has made some claims that are unbelievable. I have been asked to send Ranger Green to the Tower to meet with the refugees."

"Why me?" Ziggy asked.

"Because," Dr K hesitated a moment, "Ziggy, he says his name is Danny Grover. He says he's your brother."

The following silence was broken only by the shattering of the plate Ziggy held.


	3. A Painful Truth

Disclaimer: Not in a million years.

A/N: Because people asked nicely....

* * *

"He's my brother," Ziggy said as Flynn got into the Hummer.

"What?" Flynn asked, eyeing the curly haired brunette.

"I just," Ziggy took a breath, "I just thought I was the only one left. After that 'bot tried to use Jessie against me. He can't really be Danny, can he?"

"We won't know until we get there," Flynn replied as he started the Hummer. 'What was Danny like, anyway?"

"He was the quiet one," Ziggy said, "he loved puzzles and crosswords. Every year when he got presents, it was like a treasure hunt. We'd hide the gift and come up with a series of clues so that he could find them. When he said he wanted to be a forensic pathologist, we made the hunt into a crime scene. We took objects from the room we hid the gift in and placed them around the fake, chalk body. A lot of people overlooked Danny because he was quiet, but he was a big part of our family. He's the one who suggested we be the Grovers."

Flynn didn't know what to say, so he let the conversation die. Ziggy stared out the window, content with the silence as well. It was odd, Flynn though, because Ziggy was the one who always seemed to be talking, or moving around, and here he was, the one seeking out silence.

They pulled into the base parking lot and headed over to the shuttle that would take them to the building where Danny Grover was waiting. "We've run every test we could," the soldier told them as he drove, "every record we have says that this is Danny Grover."

"You're sure he's not a cyborg?" Flynn asked, "It wouldn't be the first time."

"We're sure," the soldier said as he pulled up in front of a nondescript brick building. "Corporal O'Malley is waiting inside to take you to Mr. Grover."

"Thank you," Flynn said as Ziggy practically leaped from the cart and hurried towards the building. Flynn followed as quickly as he could without running, determined to make sure nothing happened to Ziggy this time.

Corporal O'Malley proved to be a woman with copper hair pulled back in a tight bun. "Come with me please," she said, heading down a hallway lined with steel doors. Half way down the hall, she stopped and opened a door, "Knock when you're done," she advised them.

Ziggy stopped just out of sight of the door, "I," he began.

Flynn rolled his eyes and shoved Ziggy so that the green ranger stumbled in to the room. "We'll knock," Flynn promised as he followed his teammate.

The door swung shut as Ziggy stared at the man standing beside the table. Flynn studied him as the other two stared at each other. The self-proclaimed Danny Grover was a brunette whose hair was military short. Silver, square frames accented blue-gray eyes that were almost unreadable. He wore a pair of worn blue jeans and a black polo that had seen better days. "Hey Ziggy," he said finally.

Ziggy made a sound like a gasping sob and rushed forward. Flynn opened his mouth as his hands came up to catch his teammate. Everything went still as a blue light flashed in Flynn's eyes. He blinked a few times and found that Ziggy was frozen in mid move, as was Danny. Then Ziggy fell forward, his arms wrapping around Danny, who caught him.

Flynn leaned back against the wall, staring at his hands, and then at the two men who hugged each other like they were drowning. Finally, they stepped back. "I have something for you," Danny said, he turned and moved around the table. From a chair that faced the back of the room, he produced a toy. It had been red once, Flynn thought, but it was now a dirty brown, almost black. The stuffing was smashed and lumped oddly, but the face was recognizable as Grover from Sesame Street.

"Danny," Ziggy said, taking the toy from his brother. "Jessie's dead." Danny hugged him again as Ziggy broke down into heart wrenching sobs.


	4. Recovery

Flynn pulled into the Garage with a sigh, the dying light of evening always unnerved him in the dome. For some reason, the sunset was always blood red. Ziggy held the lumpy Grover toy as he stared at out the window. When Flynn turned off the engine, Ziggy got out and headed up the stairs in a daze. "Well?" Scott asked.

"He's the real deal," Flynn said.

"Let's go outside," Summer suggested.

The trio headed up to the roof and dragged their chairs out where they could see the artificial stars of a Corinth night. "So," Scott said, "what happened?"

"Well," Flynn said, "first, Danny gave Ziggy this battered Grover doll, then Ziggy had a melt down over Jessica. After that, they talked; I must admit, I was surprised by Ziggy. He asked a series of leading questions about their childhood, and interrogated him about after the assault on Seattle. Danny answered every question, and the only argument they had was one that they laughed about. Ziggy says he's the real deal, so the military's going to let him stay. They have some tests they want to run or something, but other than that, Danny's clear."

"I'm happy for Ziggy," Summer said, "you could tell how much he loved his brother."

"Yeah," Scott said, "I just hope that nothing happens now."

Silence fell, and Flynn shifted uncomfortably. It had been a while since the three of them had just hung out like this. Once, it had been their thing to spend time together, but now, they took turns trying to fill the uncomfortable silences when they were together. "Do you ever," Summer said, "do either of you; are we ever going to get past this?"

"I thought we had," Scott said.

"No," Summer said, "we just don't talk about it. We pretend we're what we used to be, for everyone else, and we aren't! Why can't we just talk about it for a change?"

Flynn shifted in his chair again, but said nothing. What could he say? What had happened between them was everyone's fault; after all, they could have opted to not drink, or to. He cut the thought of viciously. Dwelling on what happened would shatter the uneasy bonds they had managed to reform. "Summer," Scott said, "are you sure that you are ready to face this?"

"I've been ready!" Summer cried. "I was ready the day after, but you two avoided me. Dr K told me just the other day that she was glad that we were getting over what happened, even she doesn't realize how fragile we are."

"What do you suggest we do?" Flynn asked finally, "Do you want a repeat?"

"Not right now," Summer replied. "I just want my best friends back." She stood up and stormed off, taking the fire escape to her room instead of the stairs.

Neither of the men spoke, knowing that they shared the same thought: _She's right._


	5. If It Happened Again

"She's right, you know," Scott said as he grabbed a buggy from the row just outside the door.

"About what?" Flynn asked as he consulted their list, "Produce section, please." As part of maintaining the status quo in the Garage, all the Rangers had chores that rotated every week. This week, Flynn and Scott shared the task of shopping for the expanded team and Dr K.

"About us needing to talk about this," Scott replied, heading in the proper direction.

Flynn sighed, "What's there to talk about? It's not like we're going to be that drunk ever again."

"That's not the point," Scott said.

Flynn grabbed a produce bag and began to poke through the apples. Once he'd collected a round dozen, he headed for the oranges, "What is the point then?" He asked.

"It happened," Scott said, "and it shattered our bond. If Dillon and Ziggy hadn't shown up..." He trailed off as Flynn moved on from the oranges.

"I know," Flynn replied. "I know, but still, why do we have to talk about this? I thought we were doing just fine." He stopped to consider the bananas.

Scott snarled, startling Flynn, "Are you being deliberately blind?" He snapped.

"No," Flynn said, bagging some bananas. "I just don't want to talk about it."

"None of us do, but we need to," Scott said.

Flynn looked at their list, "We need lunch meat. Dillon wants ham, Summer wants turkey, and Ziggy wants salami."

They headed up the meat wall in silence, smiling at the occasional shopper who greeted them. "Grab some bologna to, please," Scott said. "Flynn, if there was a chance of it happening again, would you go for it?"

"What?" Flynn yelped as the bologna flew from his hand, only Scott's quick reflexes enabled him to catch the package and drop it in the buggy.

"If you could do it again, drunk or sober, would you?" Scott said.

"That's not the point!" Flynn said, storming down the aisle, stopping only to throw three packages of cheese into the buggy.

"Just answer," Scott said.

"Yes, no, I don't know!" Flynn replied, ignoring the stares. "It'll never happen again, so what is the point?"

Scott pushed the buggy around Flynn and stopped so that they stood nose to nose, "What if does? I know I wouldn't mind."

Flynn stared at Scott, stunned as the Red Ranger entered the produce section. "Get two gallons of milk," Flynn finally managed to call as Scott moved out of sight. He hurried to catch up in time to see Scott loading the milk up.

"Do you need soy?" Scott asked.

"Yes," Flynn said, opening the door and pulling some out.

The pair worked their way back through the store to the check outs. Then they loaded up and drove back to the Garage. As Flynn honked the horn to announce their return, Scott put his hand on Flynn's shoulder, "Just, think about it Flynn."


	6. Common Consensus

"Please, Dr K?" Ziggy said, although unseen, his pleading voice carried easily.

Flynn eyed the door to the training room for a moment, "What's going on?" He asked Dillon, who was perched on a stool, nose deep in a book with flowers on the cover.

"Ziggy's brother needs a place to stay for a few days," Dillon said, without looking up, "Ziggy wants him to come here."

"What did Dr K say?" Flynn asked, as he pulled out a mixing bowl and measuring cups.

"She hasn't been able to say anything," Dillon replied, flipping a page. "Ziggy's been talking for the past ten minutes."

"RANGER GREEN!"Dr K cried.

Ziggy stopped talking.

"Do you think she'll say yes?" Flynn asked as he pulled out flour and sugar from a different cupboard.

"Yes," Dillon replied. He looked up and gave Flynn an ironic smile. "If only to make Ziggy stop talking."

"How do you feel about it?" Flynn said as he returned the smile.

"I don't have an opinion," Dillon said. He glanced up, "Shower's free, finally." He shut his book and headed for the stairs, "Don't forget, you and Summer have breakfast duty."

"I know," Flynn said as he measured out the flour.

"YES!" Ziggy cried. "Thank you, Dr K!" He appeared in the door to the training room, bowing and thanking Dr K as he back out of the room. The door snapped shut as soon as Ziggy was clear. The curly haired green ranger spun and raced back up the stairs, slamming the door to his room behind him.

Flynn shook his head as Summer came out of her room, "What's going on?" She asked, heading for the stairs.

Flynn watched her for a moment, admitting to himself that Summer was a beautiful woman, and that yellow was totally her color. "Well, apparently, Danny's coming to stay with us until he gets a place of his own," Flynn managed finally.

"I'm happy for him," Summer said. "Where is everybody?"

"Jeez, Dillon, it's called being patient," Scott said as he came out of the bathroom in a towel.

"Dillon is in the shower," Flynn said dryly, over the sound of Scott slamming his door, "Scott and Ziggy are in their rooms. Dr K is in the training room, and God only knows where Gem and Gemma are."

"Oh," Summer said. She opened the fridge and began to take out eggs, butter and milk. "Scott asked me the weirdest question last night."

"Ah, there's that feeling of dread," Flynn said, "I missed it."

"Shut up," Summer said, taking the flour and sugar and putting them up. "He asked me if it happened again, would I want it to."

"He asked me the same thing," Flynn said.

"What did you say?" Summer asked.

"I didn't," Flynn replied, reaching for the eggs.

Summer got out a frying pan and set it on the stove. "I agree with him," she said, "it wouldn't be a bad thing."

Flynn dropped the egg in his hand, it cracked on the counter and fell to the floor, "Damn," he muttered.

"Here," Summer tossed him a paper towel.

"Thanks," Flynn replied. He knelt and began to clean the egg up as Summer took bacon from the fridge. "I'm not against the idea," he said, finally. "I just don't know if we should." He stood and tossed the paper towel in the trash. He turned, "Let's plan a movie night, and see what happens."


	7. Rebuilding

Flynn watched Danny leave in his new truck and turned back to pouring up the three smoothies he'd made. The past week had been interesting, with Danny playing least in sight for the most part, and Ziggy wandering around in a happy fog. Now, however, Danny was settling into his job with the military police, and moving into their singles quarters. Ziggy had vanished into the training room after helping Danny load up, not wanting to see his brother leave.

Scott wandered by the counter, "I'll see you on the roof," he told Flynn, "I have to ask Dr K something."

"Ok," Flynn said, fitting the glasses into one of the cup carriers he'd swiped from the ice cream parlor they frequented.

"Hey, Doc-OH MY GOD!" Scott yelled.

Flynn jumped at the sudden noise and looked up to see Scott stumble backwards. "Are you ok?" Flynn asked, rushing to catch Scott as he began to fall.

"Dr K," Scott said, "and Ziggy!" He sat on the ground, staring at the now closed door to the training room.

"What about them?" Flynn asked.

"They- they're…" Scott shook his head, "they were _kissing!"_

As Flynn looked at the door, it slid open and Dr K and Ziggy came out, "Ranger Red," Dr K said, "are you ill?"

"He's in shock," Flynn said.

Ziggy grinned and put his arm around Dr K, "Well, that's one way to let the cat out of the bag," he said, looking over at Dr K.

"So you say," she said. "Ranger Blue, please ensure that Ranger Red is well. Ranger Green, we still have nine point three minutes of training left."

Ziggy gave the two a goofy grin as he followed Dr K back into the room.

Scott shook his head, "Come on," Flynn said, "let's get out of here." He held out his hand and Scott took it. Flynn grunted as he pulled his friend up. For a moment, Scott used Flynn's hand to steady himself, and the pair looked at each other.

"Flynn, Scott, hurry up!" Summer shouted.

Scott let go of Flynn's hand like he'd been burned and Flynn jumped back. "Let's go," Scott said with a crooked smile.

Flynn detoured to get the smoothies, and then followed Scott up to the roof. "What took you two so long?" Summer demanded.

"Scott caught Dr K and Ziggy kissing in the training room," Flynn said, setting the drinks down on the table.

"Really?" Summer said, turning to Scott, "No joke?"

"No joke," Scott said. "It looked pretty serious from what I saw. I wonder how long that's been going on. Thanks," he grinned at Flynn as he took his smoothie.

"Does it matter?" Flynn asked. "We'll just have to make sure Ziggy knows not to hurt her."

"You think they're dating?" Summer asked.

"Dr K doesn't leave the Garage," Flynn replied, "so probably not."

"I wonder what brought that on," Scott said, "I mean, Dr K's been pretty open about how she feels about Ziggy."

"Maybe Danny," Flynn said, "it could have been a major confidence booster to have his brother back."

"Perhaps," Summer said. "About that movie night, when do we want to do this?"

"Ziggy and Dillon are going to Danny's this Friday," Flynn offered, "we could do it then."

"Sounds good," Scott said.

"What should we watch?" Summer asked, Flynn opened his mouth, "And don't say Braveheart, Flynn. We've seen it so many times I can quote the dialogue."


	8. We Have Cookies

The trio gathered in Summer's room nervously. Scott clutched a bowl of popcorn, as did Summer, while Flynn carried the drinks. They stood there, in their pajamas and looked at each other. After a long moment Summer laughed, "This is ridiculous. I'll put the movie in, you two get settled." She put her bowl on her desk and pressed the button that dropped her mirror to reveal the large TV behind it. She slid the DVD into the player and turned, picking up her popcorn as she did so. Flynn sat in the middle of the bed, and Scott sat on the right. Summer walked over to the left side of the bed and sat down, grateful for the large space. The bed had been a gift from her parents, and was big enough for the three of them to sprawl and not crowd each other.

"So, it's official," Scott said.

"Oh?" Summer asked.

"Ziggy and Dr K are seeing each other," Scott explained. "Dillon said it started just before Danny showed up, although they aren't sleeping together."

Flynn stretched out on his belly, "It's weird," he said.

"I think it's sweet," Summer said. "Although it is sad that Dillon doesn't have anyone now."

"He could date Tanaya 7," Flynn offered.

"Um, Flynn, Tanaya's one of the bad guys." Scott pointed out.

"Can't you see it? She falls for him, he falls for her, she renounces Venjix and helps us destroy him and they go off and have baby cyborgs." Flynn said.

Scott threw a piece of popcorn at Flynn, "Hey," Summer said, "no food fights. It took forever to get popcorn out of my bed last time."

"Sorry," Scott said.

They watched the movie for a while, and then Scott leaned over, "Why are we watching this again?"

"Because it wasn't Braveheart," Summer replied.

"Oh," Scott replied. "Why can't we watch Live Free or Die Hard?"

"Because last time, you and Flynn decided to enact the helicopter scene while you were drunk and Colonel Truman still looks at you funny." Summer replied.

"Oh," Scott sat back. "Can we watch Star Wars?"

"No," Summer said.

"Why?" Scott asked.

"Because you told an attack 'bot that he was your son and tried to convince him to come to the Dark Side for cookies." Flynn offered.

"Star Trek, the last one," Scott said.

"I don't have a story," Summer said. "Flynn?"

"No," Flynn said. "Let's watch that next."

"Ok," Summer said.

Once Star Trek was started, Summer stretched out beside Flynn and let her shoulder push against his. Scott followed suit on the other side. The last thing Summer remembered was Flynn setting the popcorn bowl on the floor.

* * *

Dillon slipped open the door to Summer's room, camera in hand. Dr K had asked him to take the pictures, but it was the potential for blackmail that had let Dillon to agree. The first picture he took was of Scott, curled up on his side, thumb in his mouth. Flynn had one arm over Scott and one over Summer as he slept face down. Summer was half under Flynn's shoulder and smiling. Dillon moved around the bed several times catching their positions at every possible angle. Then he crept from the room and took the camera back to Dr K.

Dr K was seated at her computer, "Put it on the desk please," she said, "I'll make you copies, I promise."

"Thanks, Doc," Dillon said before he left.

On Dr K's screens were two images. One of Ziggy, suspended in mid-air, surrounded by green light. The other was of Flynn, hands raised, faces stunned, blue light, like an aura, engulfed him. "What is going on?" She whispered.


End file.
